Difference between the Concepts of Power and Authority are as follows:
Power and authority both the terms different Jean Bodin in his work, Books of Republic says, Sovereignty is the absolute and perpetual power of a state, that is to say, His discussion gives the impression that sovereignty means power in the ordinary sense of the word. If by absolute power, Bodin means the ability to issue effective commands, it would be power, properly speaking.
If he means the entitlement or the right to issue commands and have them obeyed, it would be authority. We speak of power in a social context, when we think of power as a specific kind of ability. A man may be able to get others to do what he wants, because he holds a special office, or because he has the strength to make things difficult for them, if they refuse.
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The two examples illustrate the exercise of political power and the second is prominent in situations of conflict. Thirdly, there is coercive power which is using the threat of superior force to make others do what one wants them to do when they are unwilling. Power is often used to mean authority when we speak of giving someone legal powers.
Prof. Raphael in his Problems of Political Philosophy distinguishes three meanings of the term “power”. First, the most general meaning of power is simply ability. We use the same word for the power of a dynamo, political power or will power.
Secondly, we speak of power in a social context, when we think of power as a specific kind of ability i.e. the ability to make other people do what one wants -them to do. A man may be able to get others to do what he wants, because he holds a special office, or because he has the strength to make things difficult for them, if they refuse.
The two examples illustrate the exercise of political power and the second is prominent in situations of conflict. Thirdly, there is coercive power which is using the threat of superior force to make others do what one wants them to do when they are unwilling. Because coercive power is so prominent in political conflict, the word “power” which at first meant ability of any kind, has come to be associated with enforcement.
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Thus, the term power has three meanings mentioned above, and it can be used either with or without association of empowerment. Power is often used to mean authority when we speak of giving someone legal powers. A person with power holds a special office (e.g. a Minister or a President); this means that he has authority and is able by virtue of that position to get others to do what he tells them to do; his power is the exercise of authority. That is why the word power can be used to mean authority.